The 2017 Review of the Year

2017 Review of the Year

Ground-breaking research, the wonderful achievements of our students and the difference we make to our local and wider communities: 2017 at The University of Manchester has been another astonishing year.

In March we celebrated ten years of the Equity and Merit Scholarship – that’s more than 200 exceptional students from developing countries who receive help to complete postgraduate degrees that they can’t do at home. After ten years we produced a special film to catch up with some of their stories.

However, on 26 April there was a major fire at the Paterson Building which houses many of the University’s cancer researchers. Though no one was hurt, there was extensive damage to the building which rendered it unusable. Despite this disruption and thanks to our partners around the city, all of the researchers are now being housed elsewhere in facilities where they can continue their world-class science.

On 22 May, 23 people were killed and more than 500 injured in a terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena. This was a traumatic event for our city and personally for many of our staff and students. Diversity Officer at the Students’ Union, Ilyas Nagdee, who grew up in Manchester, summed up the feelings of many in our community when he wrote for Huck.

Startling findings from our researchers revealed that the health divide between young southern and northern people is bigger than ever, while Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party Conference speech included our research that showed having a bad job is worse for your health than no job at all.

And it’s amazing what you can find down the back of cupboards. Take Professor Jim Miles in our School of Mathematics, who found a lost and unique collection of letters and correspondence from the late Alan Turing.

Jodrell Bank Observatory was put forward as the UK’s nomination for UNESCO World Heritage Site status. The iconic observatory has just turned 60 and is aiming to join the ranks of landmarks such as Stonehenge and the Taj Mahal. One of our other cultural institutions announced the appointment of Alistair Hudson as its new director.